Publications (164) View all
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Article: Caffeine Consumption Prevents Memory Impairment, Neuronal Damage, and Adenosine A2a Receptors Upregulation in the Hippocampus of a Rat Model of Sporadic Dementia.
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ABSTRACT: Intracerebroventricular (icv) streptozotocin (STZ) administration induces pathological and behavioral alterations similar to those observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is thus considered an experimental model of sporadic AD. Since caffeine (an adenosine receptor antagonist) and selective antagonists of adenosine A2A receptors modify the course of memory impairment in different amyloid-β-based experimental models of AD, we now tested the impact of caffeine on STZ-induced dementia and associated neurodegeneration in the hippocampus as well as on the expression and density of adenosine receptors. Adult male rats received a bilateral infusion of saline or STZ (3 mg/kg, icv), which triggered memory deficits after four weeks, as gauged by impaired object recognition memory. This was accompanied by a reduced NeuN immunoreactivity in the hippocampal CA1 region and an increased expression and density of adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR), but not A1R, in the hippocampus. Caffeine consumption (1 g/L in the drinking water starting 2 weeks before the STZ challenge) prevented the STZ-induced memory impairment and neurodegeneration as well as the upregulation of A2AR. These findings provide the first demonstration that caffeine prevents sporadic dementia and implicate the control of central A2AR as its likely mechanism of action.Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD 12/2012; · 3.74 Impact Factor -
Article: Blockade of adenosine A2A receptors prevents interleukin-1β-induced exacerbation of neuronal toxicity through a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.
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ABSTRACT: Blockade of adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) affords robust neuroprotection in a number of brain conditions, although the mechanisms are still unknown. A likely candidate mechanism for this neuroprotection is the control of neuroinflammation, which contributes to the amplification of neurodegeneration, mainly through the abnormal release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin(IL)-1β. We investigated whether A2AR controls the signaling of IL-1β and its deleterious effects in cultured hippocampal neurons. Hippocampal neuronal cultures were treated with IL-1β and/or glutamate in the presence or absence of the selective A2AR antagonist, SCH58261 (50 nmol/l). The effect of SCH58261 on the IL-1β-induced phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 was evaluated by western blotting and immunocytochemistry. The effect of SCH58261 on glutamate-induced neurodegeneration in the presence or absence of IL-1β was evaluated by nucleic acid and by propidium iodide staining, and by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Finally, the effect of A2AR blockade on glutamate-induced intracellular calcium, in the presence or absence of IL-1β, was studied using single-cell calcium imaging. IL-1β (10 to 100 ng/ml) enhanced both JNK and p38 phosphorylation, and these effects were prevented by the IL-1 type 1 receptor antagonist IL-1Ra (5 μg/ml), in accordance with the neuronal localization of IL-1 type 1 receptors, including pre-synaptically and post-synaptically. At 100 ng/ml, IL-1β failed to affect neuronal viability but exacerbated the neurotoxicity induced by treatment with 100 μmol/l glutamate for 25 minutes (evaluated after 24 hours). It is likely that this resulted from the ability of IL-1β to enhance glutamate-induced calcium entry and late calcium deregulation, both of which were unaffected by IL-1β alone. The selective A2AR antagonist, SCH58261 (50 nmol/l), prevented both the IL-1β-induced phosphorylation of JNK and p38, as well as the IL-1β-induced deregulation of calcium and the consequent enhanced neurotoxicity, whereas it had no effect on glutamate actions. These results prompt the hypothesis that the neuroprotection afforded by A2AR blockade might result from this particular ability of A2AR to control IL-1β-induced exacerbation of excitotoxic neuronal damage, through the control of MAPK activation and late calcium deregulation.Journal of Neuroinflammation 08/2012; 9:204. · 3.83 Impact Factor -
Article: Astrocytic adenosine A2A receptors control the amyloid-β peptide-induced decrease of glutamate uptake.
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ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive cognitive impairment tightly correlated with the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides (mainly Aβ(1-42)). There is a precocious disruption of glutamatergic synapses in AD, in line with an ability of Aβ to decrease astrocytic glutamate uptake. Accumulating evidence indicates that caffeine prevents the burden of AD, likely through the antagonism of A(2A) receptors (A(2A)R) which attenuates Aβ-induced memory impairment and synaptotoxicity. Since A(2A)R also modulate astrocytic glutamate uptake, we now tested if A(2A)R blockade could prevent the decrease of astrocytic glutamate uptake caused by Aβ. In cultured astrocytes, Aβ(1-42). (1 μM for 24 hours) triggered an astrogliosis typified by an increased density of GFAP, which was mimicked by the A(2A)R agonist, CGS 26180 (30 nM), and prevented by the A(2A)R antagonist, SCH 58261 (100 nM). Aβ1-42 also decreased D-aspartate uptake by 28 ± 4%, an effect abrogated upon genetic inactivation or pharmacological blockade of A(2A)R. In accordance with the long term control of glutamate transporter expression by A(2A)R, Aβ(1-42). enhanced the expression and density of astrocytic A(2A)R and decreased GLAST and GLT-I expression in astrocytes from wild type, but not from A(2A)R knockout mice. This impact of Aβ(1-42). on glutamate transporters and uptake, dependent on A(2A)R function, was also confirmed in an ex vivo astrocyte preparation (gliosomes) from rats intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected with Aβ(1-42). . These results provide the first demonstration for a direct key role of astrocytic A(2A)R in the ability of Aβ-induced impairment of glutamate uptake, which may underlie glutamatergic synaptic dysfunction and excitotoxicity in AD.Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD 05/2012; 31(3):555-67. · 3.74 Impact Factor -
Article: Caffeine regulates frontocorticostriatal dopamine transporter density and improves attention and cognitive deficits in an animal model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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ABSTRACT: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) likely involves dopaminergic dysfunction in the frontal cortex and striatum, resulting in cognitive and motor abnormalities. Since both adenosine and dopamine modulation systems are tightly intertwined, we tested if caffeine (a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist) attenuated the behavioral and neurochemical changes in adolescent spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, a validated ADHD animal model) compared to their control strain (Wistar Kyoto rats, WKY). SHR were hyperactive and had poorer performance in the attentional set-shifting and Y-maze paradigms and also displayed increased dopamine transporter (DAT) density and increased dopamine uptake in frontocortical and striatal terminals compared with WKY rats. Chronic caffeine treatment was devoid of effects in WKY rats while it improved memory and attention deficits and also normalized dopaminergic function in SHR. Additionally, we provide the first direct demonstration for the presence of adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A)R) in frontocortical nerve terminals, whose density was increased in SHR. These findings underscore the potential for caffeine treatment to normalize frontocortical dopaminergic function and to abrogate attention and cognitive changes characteristic of ADHD.European neuropsychopharmacology: the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology 05/2012; · 3.68 Impact Factor -
Article: Adenosine A(2A) receptors modulate glutamate uptake in cultured astrocytes and gliosomes.
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ABSTRACT: Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, where its toxic build-up leads to synaptic dysfunction and excitotoxic cell death that underlies many neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, efforts have been made to understand the regulation of glutamate transporters, which are responsible for the clearance of extracellular glutamate. We now report that adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A) R) control the uptake of D-aspartate in primary cultured astrocytes as well as in an ex vivo preparation enriched in glial plasmalemmal vesicles (gliosomes) from adult rats, whereas A(1) R and A(3) R were devoid of effects. Thus, the acute exposure to the A(2A) R agonist, CGS 21680, inhibited glutamate uptake, an effect prevented by the A(2A) R antagonist, SCH 58261, and abbrogated in cultured astrocytes from A(2A) R knockout mice. Furthermore, the prolonged activation of A(2A) R lead to a cAMP/protein kinase A-dependent reduction of GLT-I and GLAST mRNA and protein levels, which leads to a sustained decrease of glutamate uptake. This dual mechanism of inhibition of glutamate transporters by astrocytic A(2A) R provides a novel candidate mechanism to understand the ability of A(2) (A) R to control synaptic plasticity and neurodegeneration, two conditions tightly associated with the control of extracellular glutamate levels by glutamate transporters.Glia 02/2012; 60(5):702-16. · 4.82 Impact Factor
